The former Senate aide and mother of two is a regular fixture on the campaign trail
The former Senate aide and mother of two is a regular fixture on the campaign trail
In the early days of the federal election, almost everywhere Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre has appeared, so too has his wife Anaida.
Whether embracing on a Newfoundland wharf, serving beer or ice cream to patrons at local establishments, or sharing a kiss on campaign rally stages in front of thousands, Ana, as her husband and most contemporaries know her, has been front and centre.
But the 38-year-old former political staffer and mother of two has been more than “just a prop” for the Tory leader.
On Wednesday night, as she’s done at every official CPC rally since the writ was dropped, Anaida Poilievre was introduced by a local candidate, this time Kingston and the Islands’ Bryan Paterson, and took the stage to her own intro music: country artist Dean Brody’s “Canadian Girls.”
“She can wear high heels and flannel/She can look sexy in a toque/She likes snow storms and Gordon Lightfoot/And if you’re lucky, she’ll love you,” Brody sang as she took the microphone.
Her talking points, many of which mirror her husband’s and the party’s, have remained consistent and practiced in each rally appearance.
After eliciting cheers from a call to “put Canada first for a change,” she reminded the audience of her husband’s efforts to “step out of the Ottawa bubble and the elites” to travel the country and meet with Canadians since taking the party reins.
“So when Mr. Carney likes to look down at my husband because he has been here all along, fighting with us, he looks down at my husband and tells him, “Pierre doesn’t know how the world works.’
“Well, I’ll tell you what,” she insisted, “my husband knows how Canada works and knows how to make Canada work for all of us.”
After briefly recounting their respective childhood stories, she talked about how she was able to save $25,000 as a 25-year-old single woman in 2012 and said the Conservatives would strive to make that possible again.
“My family and I, we truly understand what is going on. That is why we stand united in this fight, that is why I am by my husband’s side every single day. I’m not just a prop, guys,” she said with a deliberate wink.
After Pierre Poilievre is introduced and they share an embrace and a kiss, she steps off stage for his remarks and returns to his side at the end.
That’s been the playbook at successive events, some of which have included one or both of the couple’s children, Cruz and Valentina.
During an event in Hamilton on March. 25, after her introduction and while holding Cruz, Anaida Poilievre pulls the CPC leader in for a kiss and says in his ear, “Give a shout out to Maria.” (He forgets to do so in his 30-plus minutes of remarks.)
Anaida Poilievre is also credited with creating the official “Bring it Home” campaign slogan and leading the merchandising initiative, according to the website.
“From its very inception through to its final realization, Anaida Poilievre spearheaded every facet of the Bring it Home Merchandise. She is the creative mind behind the vision and is the lead of its operational and branding aspects.”
The spouses of Liberal Leader Mark Carney and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh — Diana Fox Carney and Gurkiran Kaur Sidhu, respectively — have attended some events but haven’t taken centre stage like Poilievre.
The Venezuelan who immigrated to Canada from Caracas with her family in 1995 when she was eight, has been drawn into the political spotlight since her husband’s rise to power in 2022.
While introducing him at the leadership convention where he was anointed that year, Anaida Poilievre offered a glimpse into her own background.
She described how her “father went from wearing business suits and managing a bank to jumping on the back of a pickup truck to collect fruits and vegetables” in order to support the family in the Montreal neighbourhood they called a new home.
“The Galinda family… taught us hard work and that there is no greater dignity to provide for your own family.”
She was first drawn into the political sphere in 2008 while pursuing a bachelor of arts in communication at the University of Ottawa. The 19-year-old was hired as a parliamentary affairs adviser for the Senate under Sen. Claude Carignan. It was during this time she met her would-be husband, whom she would marry in a 2017 elopement to Sintra, Portugal.
In 2015, she began working for Alberta MP Michael Cooper, but resigned after the 2022 leadership convention.
These days, at her husband’s press conferences, she is usually just off-screen, sometimes with the little ones in tow.
After wrapping up a Sunday presser in Woodbridge, Ont., Poilievre reminded her husband of a missed talking point on his commitment to appoint a minister of official languages.
During a visit to a brew pub in Fredericton, N.B., on Monday, as her husband was about to hand off the first pint to a male patron, she reminded him to serve “ladies first.”
“She really keeps me on track,” the Tory leader said with a smile.
Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.